Szymon Brzóska was born in 1981 in Poznań, where in 2005 he graduated in composition from the Academy of Music in Poznań (with Mirosław Bukowski). Then he studied at the Royal Conservatory of Antwerp (20052007), with Luc Van Hove. In 2006 he won Music @venture Award at the competition for young composers in Antwerp. In September 2008 his concerto for piano, strings and percussion Hommage a Schnittke had its premiere at the 42nd Polish Piano Festival in Słupsk.
He also composes music for cinema and theatre. Sutra featuring monks from the Shaolin Temple (directed and choreographed by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, set design by Antony Gormley), premiered in May 2008 at London Sadlers Wells Theatre, was staged at the biggest festivals all around the world (in Avignon, Barcelona, Berlin, Sydney and New York, and others). He also composed the sound-track for a French film Le bruit des gens autour directed by Diastme and premiered at the Festival in Avignon in 2008.
Orbo Novo, featuring dancers of Cedar Lake Company in New York, is another fruit of the collaboration between the composer and choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui (premiere at Jacobs Pillow Festival, USA/July 2009).
Other performances with music by Brzóska include I will, in collaboration with choreographer and dancer Małgorzata Dzierżon (premiere in London/June 2009) and Dunas a duo of Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui with a world-famous flamenco dancer Maria Pages (premiere in October 2009/Singapore), (S)NOW, in choreography by Joost Vrouenraets (premiere in Tilburg/October 2010) and Labyrinth (choreography: Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui), commissioned by Het Nationale Ballet in Amsterdam. The orchestral music by Brzóska was performed by Holland Symfonia, conducted by Jurjen Hempel, and pianist Barbara Drążkowska. In November 2011, Desert in choreography by Paulina Wycichowska, was premiered in Poznań, in collaboration with the Polish Dance Theatre.
Kinematic made its debut several months after its inception, on 11 December 2010, at 13 Muz Club in Szczecin, with a concert of Szymon Brzóska’s music for Novo, Sutra, (S)NOW and Dunas. The group consists of musicians collaborating with the composer for a couple of years. A concert tour in Poland and abroad is being prepared.
Oh, Noh, the latest production of U/LOI (idea by Kaya Kołodziejczyk and Karolina Wołkowiecka), had its premiere on 6 and 7 November at the 19th International Live Arts Festival CROSSROADS 2012. The first night performance with music by Szymon Brzóska performed by Kinematic Ensemble took place at the Centre for Contemporary Art.